1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the area of devices for removing ticks from animals and people and more particularly relates to an extendible and retractable tweezer disposed in a casing which tweezer, upon extension, automatically grips the tick and heats up to cause the tick to release its grip.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many hand tools which use heated tweezer-like elements for removing a tick from the skin of an animal. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,460 to Weiner discloses forceps with an electrical current passing therethrough to provide heat with the forceps having oppositely aligned cup-shaped members to surround and remove the tick. U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,771 to Childs, III also discloses the use of cup members at the end of tweezer-like elements to surround the tick. U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,306 to Huffman teaches the use of a heated needle which, when poked into the tick, causes the tick to release its grip, and the tick can then be scooped off the skin by a spoon member disposed below the needle.